Middle School Roundup: Jefferson boys win, face Rams for Area 2 title

When the pressure was on, the Jefferson Eagles eighth graders responded and in turn, won the right to face their in-city rival for the Area 2-AAA championship today with a 45-41 win over Jacksboro.

Robert Holder

When the pressure was on, the Jefferson Eagles eighth graders responded and in turn, won the right to face their in-city rival for the Area 2-AAA championship today with a 45-41 win over Jacksboro.

After getting up to an early double-digit lead, Jacksboro made adjustments in the second half cutting the lead to within one score. That’s when coach Jason Nussbaum’s team executed two plays for layups and get the win.

“We had to fight for this one,” coach Nussbaum said. “When it appeared that the game might be slipping from us, our team was able to execute when it counted the most. We had two specially designed plays that allowed to take advantage of their man pressure. That proved to be the difference in the game.”

Anthony Gibson led Jefferson with 19 points, four steals, two rebounds and an assist. Tyshawn Young and E.J. Bush each had clutch baskets down the stretch adding six points each. Young also added three rebounds, a steal and a huge block. Bush had three assists, two steals and a rebound.

The Eagles will take on Robertsville in the district championship Thursday night at 8 p.m. at Clinton Middle School.

Consolation game

Robertsville girls 38, Jefferson 27

The Lady Rams handled the Lady Eagles pressure and held on to advance to the Sectional Tuesday night.

Mykia Dowdell scored 15 to lead the Lady Rams while Courtney Ellison had eight and Makayla Johnson scored seven after losing a tough game to Horace Maynard. Leah Scudder had eight to lead JMS. Teammate Kayla Summer chipped in six.

The Rams jumped out to a 13-9 lead and pushed it to 22-12 before halftime.

“The girls played with great bounce and brought a great attitude into the game,” RMS coach Scott Hinton said. “The game was one of our more complete games of the year. I know we didn’t reach our goal of being the district tournament champion but we still qualified for the sectional at Sevierville as the No. 3-seed. We’ll be the best 3-seed in the tournament and have a chance to make a great run.”

The loss ends the Lady Eagles season with a record of 16-9. The Lady Rams advance to the AAA Sectional at Sevierville Middle and will face Heritage Saturday at 6 p.m.

Robert Holder can be contacted at (865) 220-5508.

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